Saudi Arabia

12 May 2022; MEMO: The United Kingdom yesterday announced an exemption of entry visas for all Saudi nationals.

11 May 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's futuristic megacity, NEOM, will hold millions of "Neomians" by the year 2030, according to the project's Head of Tourism.

Speaking to the Emirati newspaper, The National, the NEOM project's Head of Tourism, Andrew McEvoy, said that people are expected to begin arriving to the city in 2024, when "you will see a lot of movement as our first tourism assets begin to open."

10 May 2022; MEMO: The economy of Saudi Arabia is expected to exceed $1 trillion by the end of the year, for the first time in the kingdom's history, according to recent forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Last month, amid a surge in oil prices, the IMF revised its economic forecast for Saudi Arabia anticipating a 2.8 per cent growth.

10 May 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Oil and Energy Chief has warned that capacity in all energy sectors is decreasing and becoming ever more limited, as resources such as crude oil and natural gas are in higher demand amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

RIYADH, May 10 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia’s authority of civil aviation, announced yesterday, its initiative to prepare a framework that would make international travelling easier.

The initiative aims to unify procedures, to ease work associated with international travel, through establishing one digital source that provides the latest information and developments, and identifies the entry requirements for all participating countries, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia.

08 May 2022; MEMO: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been admitted to hospital for medical tests, according to local media, Anadolu Agency reports.

The state news agency SPA, citing a Royal Court statement, said the 86-year-old monarch entered King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the city of Jeddah Saturday night "to conduct some medical examinations."

SPA, however, did not provide any details about the nature of the tests or the condition of the king.

07 May 2022; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Friday that it transferred more than 100 released prisoners to Yemen, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a humanitarian initiative to support a United Nations (UN)-brokered truce.

The coalition announced last month that it would release 163 prisoners from the pro-Iran Houthi group, but a Houthi official later said that the list included individuals who were not affiliated with the movement.

May 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will discuss the possibility of supporting the kingdom's $3 billion deposit in Pakistan's central bank by extending its term "or through other options," a joint statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA said on Sunday.

Last year, Saudi Arabia deposited $3 billion in Pakistan's central bank to help support its foreign reserves. With a yawning current account deficit and foreign reserves falling to as low as $10.8 billion, the South Asian nation is in dire need of external finances.

MAKKAH MUKARMA, April 30 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday affirmed his government’s commitment to promoting the interests of Muslim Ummah as a corner-stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

The prime minister was talking to OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, who called on him.

The prime minister thanked the Secretary General for OIC’s consistent and unequivocal support to the Kashmir cause.

29 April 2022; MEMO: Pakistan's new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is visiting Saudi Araba this week in a bid to strengthen ties with the Kingdom and possibly gain more financial support, in what is his first foreign trip since assuming office earlier this month.